On Monday, numerous officials and lawmakers from Brooklyn gathered at the Bushwick rally, reaffirming New York City’s status as a “sanctuary city” and urging the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to cease activities in New York communities and urging the New York Police Department (NYPD) not to collaborate with ICE.
Over the weekend, following a protest against ICE in Bushwick, elected officials from Brooklyn organized a rally on Monday. According to Council Member Nurse’s post on X platform, at 11 p.m. on Saturday night at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, an immigrant was arrested, leading to a large group of people gathering in front of the hospital upon hearing about it. Video footage on social media suggests that ICE may have used a stun gun during the arrest.
“I witnessed what appeared to be direct coordination between ICE and NYPD, with police blocking the ambulance bay for ICE agents to transfer the individual to their vehicle and leave,” Nurse wrote on X platform.
Brooklyn Borough President and congressional candidate Antonio Reynoso spoke at the rally on Monday and played a video of his speech on X platform. He stated that collaboration between the NYPD and ICE is “illegal” given New York City’s status as a sanctuary city.
“We have seen the impact of this,” Reynoso said. “Immigrants are the backbone of Bushwick, this district, and the entire city. We will always defend them. We will fight until the end, until ICE is abolished.”
In addition to Reynoso and Nurse, congressional representative for the district Nydia Velázquez, state senator Julia Salazar, state assembly member Maritza Davila, and council member Jennifer Gutiérrez from the district also participated in the event. Officials called on the NYPD to respect New York’s sanctuary city laws and to cease any cooperation with ICE.
An ICE spokesperson told ABC News that law enforcement officers arrested Chidozie Wilson Okeke from Nigeria, who had been arrested previously for assault and illegal drug possession, and whose visa had expired, leading to his staying in the U.S.
According to NBC 4, as of early Sunday morning, around 200 protesters had gathered, with multiple individuals being arrested; Mayor Mamdani declared that the NYPD deployed forces to handle the protesters and did not assist ICE at the time.